“Right now it’s only a notion, but I think I can get the money to make it into a concept, and later turn it into an idea”

From notion to spark-emitting prototype may indeed be the most difficult step involved in bringing a physical item to market. It sounds as if Open Hack is the programming equivalent of transitioning from a good idea to a good product.

I wonder if the greatest advantage is the availability of advanced tools or simply the availablility of great minds for comments.